When Does the Trump Merry-Go-Round Stop?

Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Most recent book, Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield.

It really started during the campaign when Trump went through multiple campaign managers. From Corey Lewandowski to Paul Manafort to KellyAnne Conway and Steve Bannon. And it has not stopped since Trump attained the presidency. Personnel are dropped like hot potatoes in this administration for various reasons. But maybe it means that they shouldn’t have been hired in the first place.

That was certainly the case with the second to be pushed off the carousel. General Mike Flynn was shoved out within three weeks of the start of the administration as National Security Advisor, a position he never should have been given. Flynn had been fired by Obama, with the latter warning Trump about taking him aboard. But Trump disregarded the warnings and went with his gut, which turned out to be all wrong. No surprise. Flynn had lied about his contacts with Russia and Turkey, including the large sums of money he had received from each country, and had been given security clearance without proper vetting. Trump should have known better given the bizarre lies Flynn had composed about Hillary, including the pizza joint pedophilia. Now, Flynn is a possible candidate for indictment and prison. He knows about a lot of the dirty laundry involving Trump and the Russians, but will he talk?

The first to leave was Sally Yates as acting Attorney General who was a hold-over from the Obama administration. She refused to go along with Trump’s travel ban on Muslim citizens and he gave her the boot, with a not very complimentary parting statement.

The Chief Usher, Angela Reid, who was appointed by Obama, was let go in May, an unusual move for a non-policy job that generally lasts several administrations.

James Comey, the head of the FBI, also was fired in May in a very controversial act. According to Comey, Trump demanded loyalty to him and an end to the Flynn investigation and Russian involvement in the election, requests to which Comey was unwilling to acquiesce. Standing up to Trump and trying to remain independent got him canned, which may come back to haunt Trump. Special Investigator Robert Mueller, who is also looking into the Russian connections and meddling in the election, is scrutinizing Comey’s firing as well as possible obstruction of justice. He may be much tougher on the president than Comey and Trump may try to fire him before the inquiry is finished.

Michael Dubke, who was White House Communications Director resigned in May.

Walter Shaub, the head of the Office of Government Ethics resigned in July after a number of disputes with Trump and members of the administration. It appeared that “ethics” and “conflict of interest” were foreign words to Trump and his buddies who did not want to follow Shaub’s directives. The likelihood is that Trump will find a replacement who will go along with any unsavory moves that Trump wants to take and label them as ethical.

Sean Spicer left the job of press secretary in July, jumping off the merry-go-round apparently on good terms with the boss. However, at various times during his tenure, he had taken a pounding from Trump for not defending him vigorously enough and not lying when lies were necessary. Even so, Spicer was the butt of laughter on numerous occasions from the press corps when it was obvious his excuses for some of Trump’s actions or statement were pure BS.

Reince Priebus resigned as White House Chief of Staff last week, though he really was booted out by Trump who thought he was too weak for the job. Of course, Trump didn’t listen to or follow Priebus’ advice, going his own sweet way and not even including Priebus in many meetings. His resignation was pre-ordained from the outset.

Anthony Scaramucci, aka “the Mooch” had probably the shortest tenure of any major figure in any White House. The Director of Communications was unceremoniously expelled from his job and Trump’s good graces with an invective-laced screed against Priebus and Bannon on the Sunday morning talk shows that were totally inappropriate and lacking in class. While that may not have bothered Trump in the past, it did this time.

Though Attorney General Jeff Sessions is still around, he has been bad-mouthed by Trump who appears anxious to can him. How long Sessions will last is a matter of conjecture.

This list of people who left the administration for one or another reason is far from complete. These were just some of the major players and did not include many who did not take jobs offered or who withdrew at one point or another. Working for Trump is like riding a wild bucking bronco and not purely an up and down smooth ride on a merry-go-round.